Cloning Darkness
by ChihiroAyasato
Summary: Creatures from another world survive by absorbing human souls and creating clones, perfect copies of their victims. And they will stop at nothing until they acquire the lives and abilities of three certain attorneys...
1. I Target Acquired

**CLONING DARKNESS**

**Chapter I – Target Acquired **

_Huff…huff…_

I have…to get away!  
Nothing else occupied Mia's mind as she ran down the flight of stairs, with the pursuer hot on heels.  
If I don't…I'll be killed!  
She glanced back to catch a glimpse of her assailant; a dark shadowed figure with slits for pupils that glowed luminously in the black night and red, blood-like saliva dripping from its fangs. It wasn't…human.  
And with that thought, she tripped on the next step, and fell down three whole flights of stairs, crashing into every hard and sharp corner there was.

She lay at the bottom, horribly winded and bruised, barely able to breathe through the pain. Mia could barely grasp what was happening to her as the world around span at a sickening pace. She could barely keep conscious, every part of her was hurting or numb.

Mia was suddenly turned over onto her back and pinned to the ground, she felt burning hot breath on her shivering skin and stared right into the haunting eyes of the monster. It suddenly grabbed her by the throat and upwards, so that she could barely breathe without inhaling its horrid stench.

"H-Help…" She choked on the remaining air she had and gasped as she was forced down harder and deeper into the floorboards. She heard them snap underneath the oppressive weight and wondered why her spine was still intact.

A droning noise suddenly took over her senses and she realised it was speaking to her in its tongue.

_**I finally have you…and now…you shall suffer.**_

"Help m-me…s-somebody…please…" Tears prickled at her burning eyes as it raised a sharp clawed hand. She experienced an unearthly feeling as some part of her lifted, and seemed to be absorbed into the monster.

_**Now…you shall die.**_

There was a sudden noise of knife against flesh, and Mia was sure she had met her fate. She then realised warm blood was splattered all over her, but there was no pain. Had she died before it could sink in?

The figure looming over her broke up into millions of dark particles and was absorbed by some force. Mia stared at her saviour.

Xekuto was holding a luminous silver blade which glowed in the moonlight and stained with what looked like jet black ink. His emerald eyes shone a piercing jade.

She realised it was that…thing's blood.

"Mia." He said as calmly as he could and dropped the sword, letting it hit the ground with a dull clang. He took his grey coat off himself, wrapped it around her and brought her close to him.

"You're hurt." He whispered, and repositioned her so that she was in less pain. Xekuto's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the angle of Mia's left leg. It was twisted and broken.

"S-So are you," She managed, staring with horror at a deep flesh wound across his side in the exact mark of the monster's claws.  
Mia then remembered how it had begun.

How that monster had materialised without warning in the office whilst the three of them were just about to leave for their apartment.

How it had absorbed Diego before he had had a chance to blink.

How he had come for Mia and then raked his claws into Xekuto's side when he leapt in front of her to protect her and thrown him into the side of the room, splattering his blood everywhere.

How Xekuto had gasped for Mia to save herself and run as the monster neared him to finish him.

Mia blinked and then swallowed. She buried her shivering face into the crook of Xekuto's neck.

"That…th-thing…it killed D-Diego…" she croaked and held onto him tightly.  
"A-And…it could have taken you as w-well…oh my God…"

She felt his warm arms around her waist bring her closer.

"Diego's not dead, Mia. He should be back in the office." Xekuto said gently.

"Wh-what…?" She gaped at him uncomprehendingly, her mouth dry and unable to say anything else.

"I've seen those creatures before. They absorb others for more strength and gain the victim's abilities. But once they're killed, everything they took will return, slightly battered, in the exact same place it was absorbed." He explained calmly, reaching out a hand to wipe away the blood smeared on Mia's face.

"He's…going to be a-alright?" She managed.

"Yes. He's fine." Xekuto said comfortingly and slowly stood up, with her cradled in his arms, making sure her broken leg wasn't dangled awkwardly.  
"We'll go check on him now."

They reached the top of the stairs faster than Mia could remember and the door opened with a creak. Diego was already awake, a hand running through his ruffled black mane of hair. He winced slightly as he stood up and briskly walked towards them.

"D-D-Diego?" Forgetting that she was injured, Mia slipped out of Xekuto's arms and attempted to close the rest of the distance between them, only to fall onto Diego's chest with a cry of pain.

"Mia…!" He held her with the least amount of pressure that was possible. Diego realised with shock that she was sobbing fitfully into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could.

"Oh God…I thought y-you d-died…" She choked and hugged him with all the remaining strength she had left.

"What was that…thing?" He murmured, comfortingly stroking Mia with a shaking hand and then looking up to his colleague.

"A creature from another world," Xekuto replied as he placed her gently down on the slightly damaged couch. "We should leave here immediately, in case more are on their way."

"You're…not joking to lighten up the situation, are you?"

"You really think I would be when I'm _bleeding_ all over the office carpet?"

"Y-You're…BLEEDING? Oh, God, Xekuto!" Mia was up at once in panic and stumbled over to him.

"Mia, you need to stay put. You're injuring your leg more by…"

"But you're more hurt than I am, y-you might pass out if you lose any more blood! We need to get you to the hospital immediately!"

"Well, that's where we were planning to go anyway." Diego groaned with the effort of standing himself up from the couch and made his way towards the door.  
"Here, Kitten, I'll support you if you need." He reached out a hand.

"Y-Yeah…" She murmured, and holding tightly onto Xekuto's arm, pulled them both towards the exit.


	2. II When did I call her?

Dr. Kyousuke Irie belongs to Ryukishi07, I merely borrowed him as he deserves more love. X3

* * *

**CLONING DARKNESS**

**Chapter II – When did I call Her…?**

"Is he going to be alright, Dr. Irie?" Mia watched anxiously from the other side of the examining room, her hands pushed against the glass separating her from Xekuto's hospital bed.

"He will be fine after he gets some rest. We have already attended to his open wound and given him a large dose of aspirin." Kyousuke pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled reassuringly at a flustered Mia.  
"You yourself should be resting, Ms. Fey. Though your broken leg is now bandaged, you still need to give it proper attention."

"Come on, Kitten. You heard the doctor." Diego placed a calm hand around his pupil's waist and steered her away from the hospital room.

"B-But what if he needs someone when he wakes up? What if he suddenly stops BREATHING?" She said, paranoia clearly taking over her senses.

"That's a highly unlikely situation and even if it were to occur, the nurse looking after him will be right there by his side."

"Wh-what if that nurse is actually conspiring against you and…!"

"Mia. You need to calm down and take a deep breath." Diego finally managed to seat her shivering form onto a seat by the reception.  
"The doctor told us they would take care of Xekuto, and they will. They also said that we were free to go home and that there is need to worry."

"B-But…but…!" Mia glanced up at her mentor's eyes in desperation.  
"H-How can I not worry? If something h-happens to him again…I'll never forgive myself…!"

"Nothing's going to happen." Diego pushed a mental image of that horrid monster to the back of his brain. Xekuto said that they wouldn't follow him here and he trusted him.  
"Xekuto would want you to go home and get some rest, and not stay up the rest of the night worrying about him."

At the mentioning of her best friend's name, Mia finally gave in and collapsed into Diego's embrace.  
"F-Fine…you win. Let's go back…"

"That's my kitten…You really care about him, don't you?"

They were in Diego's car, driving at a slow pace back to their shared apartment since his arm was still slightly bruised from that encounter.

"He was the first friend I ever had…" Mia murmured, her head resting against the car seat cushion, her energy finally diminishing after all that had happened today.  
"And probably the only one that fully understands me."

"Oh, meaning I'm not good enough for you?"

"A-Ah…! No…! I wasn't trying to…" She jerked up, wincing slightly at the pain in her leg.

"Relax, Kitten. I was only teasing. You realise you haven't smiled at all up to this point?"

"Yeah? Well that's probably because I'm plotting silently to wring your neck when we get out of the car."

He chuckled softly. Even with a broken leg, his kitten had claws.

"He's going to be fine, Mia." Diego stopped at a red light and then turned towards her.  
"Xekuto's the strongest human being I've ever known, besides you of course. He'll make it through this."

She wearily turned her head towards him and managed a small smile.  
"Thanks…Diego. You can be very sweet when you want to be."

He was about to reach out a hand to stroke her cheek affectionately when the phone suddenly rang, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oh…sorry…that's mine." Mia reached into her bag and brought out her mobile. Luckily she didn't hear Diego cursing underneath his breath at the interruption to his once chance to get closer to her on an emotional level.

"Who could be calling so late?" She glanced at the clock. It was already eleven at night.  
"Hello, Mia Fey speaking."

"Mia…! Are you alright?" The familiar voice of her high school friend cried out through the phone speaker.

"L-Lana?"

"I heard what happened from Armando! Are you still hurt? Did you get your leg treated?"

"Y-yeah…" She turned her head towards Diego with a confused look on her face, which he returned.

Diego's mobile had been smashed upon being hurt by the monster. How on earth could he have contacted Lana?

He gave her a 'beats me' look and placed his foot on the pedal to continue driving.

"I'm coming over right now to make sure you're okay. I'll be waiting by the apartment door, alright?"

"Y-Yeah…thanks Lana…but you really don't have to…"

"No, I want to, Mia. I have to see with my own eyes that you're alright. So I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

Mia listened to the dull sound of the phone beeping as Lana cut off. She sighed and dejectedly sank back into her seat.

"I didn't want to worry _her_ of all people."

"Hmm." Diego's brow furrowed.  
"And I'm still wondering in which lifetime I had become a miracle worker and magically fixed my phone to call a number that I didn't even know."

Mia was too tired to notice he was joking and sighed with relief when they finally reached the entrance. Diego helped her out onto the street and then walked her slowly to the tall building.

"Mia, oh thank God you and Armando are okay!" Lana ran towards them and embraced her friend.

This shocked her greatly since Lana had never shown any form of affection towards Mia from the day they met. It was always a cold demeanour that greeted her whenever they spoke to each other, and the rare smile that she would show only to Mia and her little sister, Ema.

Then again, she had received news that her best friend had had a close encounter with death.

"…Where's Zoren?" Lana followed them into the apartment and placed her bag down next to the couch.

"He's in the hospital. The doctors had to tend to his flesh wound since it was more serious than our injuries." Diego answered as he went to pour some coffee for the three of them.  
"Milk or sugar?" He asked Lana.

"Both thanks…I need something to calm myself down." She replied and began examining Mia's bandaged leg.  
"When will you be off the crutches?"

"The doctors said in about two weeks, though they're not certain since I couldn't keep still whilst they were taking a look at it."

"Why? Was it hurting too much?"

"No…I was too worried about Xekuto and was fidgeting around in an attempt to see him in his own examination room…"

"Oh, Mia. Has anyone ever told you that you're too nice for your own good?"

"Yeah…you, on multiple occasions."

"Heh…you've got a point there."

Diego placed the tray full of steaming mugs steadily on the table in front of the couch and sat next to Mia. He nearly spat out the bitter blackness when Mia spoke once more.

"Would you like to stay the night, Lana? You must be exhausted and Xekuto's bed will be free since he's not…coming home tonight."

The coffee addict swallowed the brew in his mouth and his expression softened. He had noticed the hurt look on Mia's face as she realised that the silver haired attorney won't be safely under this rooftop for a while.

Lana seemed to have sensed this too and placed a reassuring arm around her friend's shoulders.

"He'll be fine. I know Zoren. He's strong willed and wouldn't give in so easily. And as for me staying…I'm really sorry but I can't…I can't leave Ema alone at home, she'll go crazy."

"Yeah, you got a point there." Mia managed a small smile.

After making sure that Diego was more than capable of taking care of her colleague, Lana finally left the two of them and drove back home. By then it was already midnight.

Mia's stomach churned uncomfortably at the possibility of those monsters still being out there. Diego seemed to be able to read her mind and wrapped an arm tightly around her.

"It's going to be fine, Kitten. Xekuto told me that they won't be able to follow us anymore."

"How can you be so sure? What if he was just lying to comfort us?"

"I don't reckon a logical sense of comforting someone is by lying to them and telling them that they were safe when they were actually seconds away from death. Call me crazy, but that's the worst way of protecting someone I had ever heard of, Kitten."

"Yeah…you're right." She sighed and leaned against him, feeling his unshaven sideburns tickle her forehead.  
"I…just need to relax and try to forget about all of this…"

"That's sounds like a good plan to me. We'll go visit Xekuto first thing in the morning, how's that sound?"

"Great…thank you…Diego," She startled him by gently kissing the side of his cheek before breaking away and leaving for the bathroom.

Pleasantly shocked, he placed a hand to where her lips had made contact with his flesh and smiled inwardly.

He may still have a chance with his kitten after all.


End file.
